Opened in 1905, the White City Amusement Park was one of the South Side of Chicago's most popular entertainment venues. The amusement park was located at 63rd Street and South Parkway. Its name—White City—was a reference to the monumental, Beaux Arts architectural style of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition.
White City featured several roller coasters, a chute-the-chutes, two ballrooms, inexpensive food, and its landmark Electric Tower. Partly due to a large fire in the late 1920s, and partly due to the economic hardship of the Depression, much of White City's amusements had been shut down by the mid-1930s. Stiff competition from the growing Cottage Grove entertainment district, particularly the new Trianon Ballroom, also drew entertainment-seekers away from the park. In 1937, only one dance hall, the roller rink, the basketball courts, and the bowling alleys remained in operation. White City closed for good in the 1950s.
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